We missed MOTU's NAMM announcements in my travels, though in the
meantime they've had time to put details up on their site, so here you
go:
MOTU's MachFive
sampler version 2 adds standalone operation, unlimited parts, a
full-screen preset browser and expanded views of many other sampler
components, a groove-slicing engine called LoopLab (related to DP's
beat detection?) and real-time stretching, plus new layering and a
built-in mixer. Lots of small enhancements on their own, but together
this a very big update. Free upgrade if you buy now.
Version 2 of the MX4
synth will be a free upgrade for existing owners. (Thanks, MOTU!!) The
new version adds built-in effects, a tempo-locked pattern gate and
arpeggiator, sample & hold, and plenty of other features. (Still no
Windows version, though?)
What's most exciting here? For me, loop slicing in MachFive and the
wild (but fairly accessible-looking) pattern gate in MX4 are huge. I'm
most excited right now about the MX4 as I use version 1 because of its
unusually flexible and easy oscillator assignments. Sure, we've had
lots of advanced synths, but 2005 looks like it'll be a great year for
soft synths that are easy and fun to use. More as these come out.
Compatibility: MX4 – OS X; MachFive – Windows/OS X